How to Knit a Beanie
First of all, what is a beanie? The internet seems to agree that a knitted beanie is a close fitting, stretchy hat. My son, who's ten, informs me that a beanie should also include a small visor. Well in ye olde times, when I was a girl, a beanie was a round rainbow coloured hat with a propeller, and a close fitting stretchy hat was a toque. But I'm revealing both my age and my nationality...
Beanie Basics
If you want to design your own knitted beanie, you'll need to know your gauge and the finished circumference of the hat. The finished size is roughly the circumference of the person's head, minus 1-6 inches, depending on the desired style and the stretchiness of the beanie.
Approximate dimensions for a knitted beanie
Here are some rough guidelines for how to calculate the number of stitches in your beanie.
| Size | Beanie Circumference | To beginning of crown |
| preemie | 11-12 inches | 4 inches |
| infant | 13-15 inches | 4.5 inches |
| baby/toddler | 14-16 inches | 4.5 inches |
| child | 15-17 inches | 5 inches |
| adult small or kid large | 17-19 inches | 5 inches |
| adult medium | 18-20 inches | 5 inches |
| adult large | 21-23 inches | 5.5 inches |
Update January 31, 2012: If you want to go beyond the basics, I just found a great, very detailed, head sizing chart at Tottoppers. You can also buy Kate Oates's Math for Hats pdf booklet.
Simplest Knitted Beanie Recipe
Multiply your gauge (stitches per 1 inch) by the desired circumference of the beanie. Round off the number of stitches to a multiple of 5. Cast on that number of stitches. Use a set of double pointed needles, 2 circular needles, or 1 short circular needle, and join in the round. Work about 1 1/2 inches of K2, P2 rib, then switch to stocking stitch. Knit without shaping to beginning of crown (see above measurement list for height of the hat to crown).
Decreasing for the crown:
Row 1: *Knit ((total number of sts/5) - 2), k2tog. Repeat from * to end of row.
for example, if you have 80 sts, you would [K14, k2tog] five times, and then have 75 sts.
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: *Knit ((new total number of sts/5) - 2), k2tog. Repeat from * to end of row.
Row 4: Knit
Continue decreasing like this (switching to dpn's if you started with a circular needle) until you have about 1/3 of your original stitch count. Then decrease every row, instead of every other row, until you have 10 stitches left. Then break your yarn, and thread the tail through the remaining stitches.
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